Many Christians, pastors, and theologians parrot continually the blatantly
false notion that Jesus spoke twice as often of hell as He did of heaven. Since
the word "heaven" is attributed to Jesus over a hundred times we should, I
guess, expect that He must have spoken of "hell" multiple hundreds of times.
Five minutes in a concordance will easily render this bit of Christian heresy
totally false. In reality Jesus spoke of "hades/hell" on only four separate
occasions (check any red letter edition of the King James). "Hell" (regarding
Capernaum) is mentioned twice, but it is the same occasion. And on only four
other occasions did any other of the New Testament writers (Luke, John, and
Paul) make mention of hades/hell.

In Installment XVI, Part A we saw that
sheol is translated "grave" 31 times and "pit" three times in the KJV..
In Installment XVI, Part B we saw that
sheol is translated 31 times as "hell" in the KJV. Then we proved
Scripturally that of these 65 times "sheol" is used in the Hebrew Scriptures it
neither means, grave, pit, or hell, although sheol (the state of the dead) is
closely associated with the grave, technically it is not the grave itself.
There are other Hebrew words for grave and pit, but there was no Hebrew word
for hell, as the ancient Hebrews had no such concept as an eternal hell in
their God-given theology. There is not one single warning concerning an eternal
hell of suffering in all of the instructions from God through Moses to all the
people of Israel.

ALL OCCURRENCES OF GREEK "HADES" TRANSLATED "HELL"

Then in Installment XVI, D-4, we proved from Scripture that the Greek word
Gehenna meaning, "The Valley of the Son of Hinnom," should never ever be
translated hell. And so we are now down to only 8 more times that we find hell
in the King James Bible, and in those remaining eight occurrences it is
translated from the Greek word "hades."

The Greek word "hades," means "imperceptible or unseen," however, to the
Greeks this word also represented both the god Hades and the domain of Hades,
which was the state of the dead, and underworld. Originally this word did not
mean a place of pain and torture. That bit of paganism was borrowed from the
Egyptian underworld of Amenti with its lowest realm being Tartaroo where it was
taught that there was pain and suffering. Leaders in Greece liked this Egyptian
practice of keeping the common people fearful of their eternal fate by the
constant threat of ending up in Amenti if they were bad, as does orthodox
Christian theology to this day. And so the Greeks too incorporated these fabled
eternal evils into their already established doctrine of Hades.

Left: Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed
staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th C BC. Right: Another
depiction of the Greek god of the underworld, Hades.

If we are to believe that hades is a literal place at a geographical
location, then we must also believe that the god Hades is also a real god which
has dominion over this underworld of the dead.

Was there also a pagan god of the Hebrew
sheol? Nonsense. The
only God Who has dominion over
sheol is Jehovah:

"For
there is not a word in my tongue,
but, lo, O LORD [Heb. Jehovah]
, You know it altogether. You hast beset me behind and before, and laid
Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge
is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot
attain unto it. Where shall I go from Your spirit? or where shall I
flee from Your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there: if I make
my bed in hell [Heb.
sheol]
, behold,
YOU are there" (Psa. 139:4-8).

DEFINING THE GREEK WORD "HADES"

Hades IS sheol. Hades is the Greek translation in the New Testament when an
Old Testament Hebrew verse is quoted containing the word "sheol." Here is an
example:

So the Holy Spirit inspired the New Testament writers to translate the
Hebrew word
sheol into the Greek word
hades. Therefore, sheol IS hades and hades IS sheol, and this is precisely how
Dr. Strong defines them:

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary: #7585, "
sheol,hades or the world of the dead."

Technically, I could end our study on the meaning of hades right here. I
have already written two Installments on sheol in which we saw that sheol is
the state of the
dead--not hell, not even the grave, but the state of the
dead. And as sheol IS hades, hades cannot take on any greater or
opposing meaning that is not contained in an older parent language word
"sheol."

No matter how fanciful one's ideas may be regarding the use of the word
hades in the New Testament, it does not take on the meaning of consciousness,
judging, torture, chastisement, annihilation, or eternity. It is the UNSEEN,
IMPERCEPTIBLE, UNCONSCIOUS STATE OF THE DEAD called
sheol throughout the Old Testament Scriptures.

The Scriptures teach us that:

"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any
thing..." (Ecc. 9:5).

As this is true in "sheol," it is likewise true in "hades."

"While I
live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I
have any being. Put not your trust in princes,
nor in the son of man, in whom
there is no help.
His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his
thoughts perish" (Psa 146:2-4).

Just where did David understand a person would be when he
"returned to his earth" when his thoughts perished and he no longer
lived to praise the Lord? Answer:
"For
IN DEATHthere is no remembrance of Thee: in the
GRAVE [Heb: 'sheol']
who shall give thee thanks?" (Psa 6:5). Well of course, the orthodox
Christian theologians teaching makes a lie out of this Scripture, as they teach
that
for in death there IS remembrance of God, and that the dead patriarchs of
old were alive praising God in a certain compartment of sheol for many
centuries before Jesus visited them (while He was supposed to be dead, for the
sins of the world) and took them back to heaven with Him.

Never mind the Scriptural fact, that King David was one of those patriarchs
of old, who also was in the death state of sheol, but must have been overlooked
by Jesus during His brief visit there, seeing that:

"For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he says himself, The LORD
said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand..." (Acts 2:34).

Does no one ever question the endless, blatant contradictions between Church
doctrine and the Word of God? Do you?

Now then, here is what the Scriptures plainly state: David said he would
"praise the Lord" while he was alive, because when
"...his breath goes forth, he returns to this earth; in that very day his
THOUGHTS PERISH." And that
"in the grave [Heb:
sheol]
there is NO remembrance of Thee...who shall give Thee [The Lord]
thanks [there]
?" there in sheol? And "sheol IS HADES," so there is no remembrance, no
thanks, his thoughts perish
"not ANYTHING," not only in sheol, but in hades (the Christian hell)
EITHER!

So why won't Christians and orthodox theologians and teachers and pastors
accept these clear and definitive statements of God's Word? Because they
DESPISE the Word of God. Sure they do. They don't believe these Scriptures, and
they won't teach them, because these Scriptures contradict and make a mockery
of their anti-scriptural and pagan doctrines of immortal souls being tortured
by demons for ever in the pits of some heathen hell. Take away the fear of a
Christian hell of eternal torture, and you take away the power and the vanity
and the money which is the motivation of the basest of men and women.

Talk about God's timing: I just took a few minutes break from my computer.
John Hagee is on the TV and he just said: "If hell is going to be anything, it
is going to be a place of remembrance." Remembrance? Hell/hades/sheol is a
"place of remembrance?" Oh really?

What did we just read from the Word of God? Let's read it again and compare
it to this damnable heresy of John Hagee and most of orthodox Christianity:
"For in
death there is
NO REMEMBRANCE of Thee..." And just where and what is this "death?"
Rest of the verse:
"in
SHEOL [that's Hagee's hell]
who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psa 6:5).

Let's look at a few other translations just so we are clear that this verse
is speaking of
death in sheol/hades, the hell of the Christians:

"For
in death there is no remembrance of thee: In SHEOL who shall give thee
thanks?" (American Standard Version).

"For
in death there is no remembrance of You; In the UNSEEN, who shall
acclaim You?" (Concordant Literal Version).

This unscriptural assertion of John Hagee is more important than most might
realize. What did John Hagee really do by stating that "hades" is a "place of
remembrance?" What he did is put God's Word on the line as to whether it is
true or has blatant contradictions (which would really mean, lies). Mr. Hagee
is quoting from the Lazarus parable in Luke 16 where the Rich man opens his
eyes in hades, and Dr. Strong and the Scriptures tell us that sheol of the
Hebrew is hades of the Greek.

The hell/hades myth has been accepted as a place of eternal suffering by the
Jews, Christians, Moslems, and even the secular world. In Old English, the word
hell meant "cover or conceal." For the moment let's allow for the fact that
since "hades" is the word which represents the "hell" of the Greeks, that it
could also be rendered "hell" of the Anglo Saxons, being aware however, that
these two concepts of an eternal hell differ considerably.

We will take up the discussion of such phrases as "outer darkness" and
"gnashing of teeth" in a later section. Such phrases are falsely assumed to
also represent the conditions of this fabled hell. Now then, here are the only
eight occasions which reference hades/hell in all Scripture. And keep in mind
through the pages of this study, that hades is never said to be a place of
fire. We will learn that hades is thrown into the lake of fire, so how could it
BE the lake of fire?

3. "And in
hell [hades/unseen]
he lifted up his eyes" (Luke 16:23--parable)

4. "I [Jesus]
... have the keys to
hell [hades/unseen]" (Rev. 1:18)

DISCIPLES--4 times:

5. "You will not leave My [Jesus']
soul in
hell [hades/unseen]" (Acts 2:27)
"Christ...His soul was not left in
hell [hades/unseen]" (Verse 31)

6. "Death and
hell [hades/unseen]
followed with him" (Rev. 6:8)

7. "Death and
hell[hades/unseen]
delivered up the dead" (Rev. 20:13)
"Death and
hell [hades/unseen]
were cast into lake of fire" (Verse 14)

8. "O
grave [hades/unseen]
where is thy victory" (I Cor. 15:55)

That's it. These are the only eight occasions (not hundreds and hundreds as
deceiving theologians falsely contend) where the translation "hell" is even
conceivably justified in all Scripture, and is the only eight occasions were
the Greek word
hades is found in Greek NT manuscripts. And not once is it a place of eternal
torment, or eternal judgment, or eternal annihilation. We will now go through
these eight places thoroughly, paying close attention to all the words.

On one occasion the King James erroneously renders the word
tartarus, as hell. Tartarus means "abyss--a place of restraint," (also
called "the deepest abyss of the Greek hades"). The word tartarus can be traced
to the underworld of the pagan Egyptians. Tartarus is an Egyptian word, not
Greek. And this one-time use in the King James clearly has reference to angels
being held in restraint until their (not our) judgment. Humans are never
connected with tartarus, only angels, so I will not spend much time on it in
this Installment.

"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast
them down to
hell [
tartarus--abyss]
, and delivered
them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment" (II
Pet 2:4).

And this place of restraint (
"chains of darkness") is only until we (I Cor. 6:3) judge the angels
("judgment"), not for eternity.

We will now go through in detail the only eight occasions in which the Greek
word
hades appears in all Scripture:

"Then began He [Jesus]
to upbraid the cities wherein most of the mighty works were done, because
they repented not: Woe unto you, Chorazin! Woe unto you, Bethsaida! For if
the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago in Sack cloth and ashes.

But I say unto
you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment,
than for you. And you,
Capernaum, which art exalted into heaven, shall be brought down to
hell [Greek:
hades, Hebrew:
sheol]
: for if the mighty works, which have been done in you, had been done in
Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it
shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than
for you" (Matt. 11:20-24).

And here's the same occasion in Luke's account:

"Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty
works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had
a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to
hell[Gk:
hades]" (Luke 10:13-15).

The unscriptural problems associated with trying to force this declaration
of Jesus Christ regarding Capernium being
"brought down to hades" into the idea that Capernium would be cast down
into the pagan hell of the ancient Greeks to be tortured for all eternity, are
staggering to say the least. There is nothing in the above statement of our
Lord that suggests any such eternal destiny for all the inhabitants of
Capernaum.

Capernaum of Galilee from an aerial view.
New Franciscan and Greek churches stand on ruins of Capernaum.
The remains of a 2nd or 3rd c synagogue (right center) stand on an
earlier one in use during Christ's stern proclamation against sinful
Capernaum.
Clearly Capernaum has visibly been "brought down to hades/unseen."

DOES ANYONE EVER PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORDS?

Christians read these words of our Lord and the only words they see are:

"And you, Capernaum, which art exalted into heaven, shall be brought
down to hell."

Is that all Jesus said? Does no one pay any attention to the context of
Jesus' teaching regarding Capernaum and all the other cities He upbraided?

Jesus speaks not only of Capernaum, but also Chorazin, and Bethsaida, and
Tyre, and Sidon, and Sodom. And has anyone ever noticed what Jesus really said
regarding these cities?

THREE LESSONS ON JUDGMENT FOUND IN THESE VERSES:

LESSON (1):

"Then began He [Jesus]
to upbraid the cities wherein most of the mighty works were done, because
they repented not: Woe unto you, Chorazin! Woe unto you, Bethsaida! For if
the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and
Sidon,they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."

Jesus pronounces a "woe" on Chorazin and Bethsaida because they saw Jesus'
mighty works but they didn't repent. He then states that if the same works had
been done in Tyre and Sidon,
"they would have repented long ago."

Why would they have repented long ago? Chorazin and Bethsaida saw these
mighty works and didn't repent. Capernaum saw these might works and didn't
repent? Why would Tyre and Sidon have repented? Were all the people of Tyre and
Sidon and even Sodom, just inherently better and more tender-hearted people so
that they would, on their own, repent at the witnessing of such great and
mighty works? And was the entire population of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum so evil and hard-hearted that the mighty works of Jesus did not
effect them at all?

Are we to foolishly assume that 100 percent of all the men, women, and
children of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom would be fully capable and willing to repent
in the presence of these mighty works, but that 100 percent of the men, women,
and children of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum are totally incapable and
unwilling to repent in the presence of these mighty works?

And don't let any foolishly suggest that Jesus was not speaking of and
including women and children and infants in His statements. Notice that Jesus
brings Sodom into this picture, and we are all well aware of the fact that ALL
men and ALL women and ALL children and ALL infants were destroyed in Sodom and
Gomorrah, and all the cities of the plain.

Truth is, there is one Scriptural way and one Scriptural way only that any
city or any family or any individual is able to come to Jesus Christ in
repentance. Here is the only way to repentance:
"the goodness of God leads you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4). Are we so
totally ignorant of the Word of God so as to believe Tyre and Sidon could have
repented on their own? Repentance is the result of
"the goodness of GOD," not the goodness of the repenting sinner. And
this is why,
"no man
can come to Me except the Father draw [Gk:drag]
him" (John 6:44).

So if these mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, the only way they
would have repented is still totally dependant upon
the goodness of God leading them to repentance and dragging them to
Christ. Jesus is not suggesting some other, different, alternative, human
"free will" method by which they would have repented. Jesus does not contradict
His Own statements of Scripture.

Neither is it just
generally that,
"the goodness of God leads you to repentance," or that
generally,
"no man can come to Me except the Father draw him," but that on occasion
these can also be accomplished by man's phantom "free will," independent of God
and thus negating the truth of the above Scriptures believing that,
"the Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35) is a false statement and
that the Scriptures can be broken by man's supposed almighty "free will."

Are you one who believes that the Scripture can be broken? Are you still one
who believes that his will is "free" from the Sovereignty of God and that one's
will can indeed thwart the very will of God?

Repentance is good, and:

"
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning" (James 1:17).

That my friends is a universal, eternal truth of God, and I can care less
what the theologians who worship the god of "context, context, context" teach
to the contrary. Repentance does not originate as some mystical uncaused act of
the human will. When will we begin to believe the Scriptures?

But since God didn't have His Son do these mighty works in Tyre and Sidon
they didn't repent.

And what about Sodom? Sodom did not see these mighty works, and Sodom did
not repent, and so Sodom also was brought
"down to hell [hades]
." And Sodom wasn't alone in that ancient destruction. It also included
along with Sodom and Gomorrah, all
"the cities of the plain" (Gen. 19:28-29).

Are you following this closely? Jesus could have caused Tyre and Sidon to
repent; He could have saved them; and they too could have remained until this
day, but Jesus didn't want to save them at that time. Imagine that: all Jesus
would have had to do was the same
"mighty works" in Tyre and Sidon as He did in Capernaum, Chorazin, and
Bethsaida, and they
"would have
repented long ago." Yes, Chorazin, Behtsaida, Tyre, Sidon, Sodom,
and Gomorrah will all give "account" one day for their sins, but Who is
"responsible" for their repentance and salvation? Why, Jesus Himself--He said
as much in these verses if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. These verses
prove that God
can bring anyone to repentance when He so desires.

Not only would Tyre and Sidon have repented as a result of the mighty works
of Jesus, but something remarkable would have happened to Sodom had they this
same opportunity.

LESSON (2):

"If the mighty works, which have been done in you, had been done in
Sodom,
it would have remained until this day."

Once again, Jesus is not suggesting that Sodom had any such ability as to
entirely change the carnality of their entire city. He is just showing that God
could have taken a different course of action with Sodom had He so desired, and
could have caused it to
"remain until this day." So what is the point of all this, and what does
it have to do with the "eternal hell of torture" taught by the Christian
Church?

Would any deny that God is NOT A LIAR? Can we then take Him at His word when
He declares through Peter:

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance" (II Pet. 3:9).

So, had God desired for Sodom to repent and be saved so as to
"have remained until this day," what was it that He would have had to
do? We don't have to guess on this one because Jesus has already plainly told
us what He would have had to do:

"
If the mighty works, which have been done in you, had been done in
Sodom, it would have remained until this day."

There's the simple answer: do the mighty works in Sodom that were done in
Capernaum, and Sodom would have repented and
"It would have remained until this day."

But as Isaiah said (Isa. 53:1) and Paul repeated (Rom. 10:16):
"Who has believed our report?" Do you? Do you believe these words of our
Lord, or are you like the Christian orthodox church which believes it is all
predicated upon man's phantom "free will" which can thwart the will of God any
time it desires?

Is not an entire city, not to mention neighboring Gomorrah and all the
cities of the plain, including all the teens, youngsters, mentally challenged,
pregnant women, grand mothers and grand fathers, great grand mothers and great
grand fathers, and little babies, worth a few
"might works" on God's part?

Orthodox Christianity teaches that Sodom is suffering the fires of an
eternal hell RIGHT NOW. And if you don't believe that, go and ask your minister
or pastor where the citizens of Sodom are RIGHT NOW? The Bible teaches,
however, that all the citizens of Sodom are DEAD and they are suffering nothing
right now. But let's (for the twisted and deranged beliefs of Christendom)
suppose that Sodom really is presently suffering consciously in an eternal hell
of fire. According to Jesus, was there a way that they could have escaped such
a fate? Yes, of course there was, Jesus said there was a way.

Now pay very very close attention to what Jesus said would have saved them
so that
"It [Sodom]
would have remained until this day." Well here is Jesus' Own answer:

"
If the mighty works, which have been done in you [Capernaum]
,
had been done in Sodom..."

There it is:

"If the might works of Jesus
had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day."

Are you believing what you are reading? Does it not contradict the whole of
the Christian doctrine of eternal torment? Did Jesus say that Sodom could have
saved themselves and remain until this day if they so desired, or did He say
that had His mighty works been done in Sodom it would have remained until this
day? That was a question? Don't just keep reading--answer the question! NO, not
to me, to YOU, in your HEART, and in your MIND, and in your SPIRIT.

If it is JESUS Who is responsible for the salvation of Sodom, then it is
JESUS Who is also responsible for the salvation of ALL CITIES AND ALL OF
HUMANITY, for
"God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34).

Consider the orthodox doctrine of "one chance only at salvation or suffer
the horrors of hell for all eternity." Orthodox Christian theologians, pastors,
teachers and lay people all agree that the wicked sinners of Sodom are
presently alive and suffering in hell and that they have suffered there for
nearly 4,000 years now, and will continue to suffer in this hellhole for all
eternity.

Now then, what would it have taken to prevent such a monstrous and horrific
insane destiny? Why according to our Lord it would have taken just some of His
"mighty works," that's all. Are those people of Sodom and all the cities
of the plains not worth a few "mighty works" of our Lord. Ask your pastor to
explain this Scripture to you according to the Christian eternal hell doctrine,
in any language that makes the least bit of rational sense.

Jesus did not say that had such mighty works been done in Sodom, then they
would have had a "chance" to repent, be saved, and "remain until this day." No,
Jesus said that
"It
WOULD have remained until this day." No "ifs" "ands" or "buts" about
it--
"it
WOULD have remained until this day." Who ya gonna believe--this evil
and blasphemous eternal hell doctrine of the Church, or the Word of God? Does
Jesus indicate that Sodom has been suffering in hell since their destruction
way back there in Gen. 19? No, He surely doesn't.

LESSON (3):

"But I say unto you, That
it shall be MORE tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of
judgment, than for you" (Matt. 11:20-24).

What? If Sodom has been tortured in the living fires of hell for the past
nearly four thousand years, why must they wait for "judgment" to receive
"more tolerance?" And how is it that they have apparently ALREADY BEEN
JUDGED TO SUFFER ETERNALLY IN HELL? What kind of "tolerance" is that? And how
can there be "more tolerable" for Sodom, the city that personifies all that is
wicked and perverted? The city that had not one righteous person in it save
Lot?

God is going to show "more tolerance" to Sodom in the day of judgment than
to Capernaum where Jesus and Peter themselves lived? That's what Jesus said.
But what does that mean? It means a lot. It means that if you have believed all
such people as Sodom and Capernaum will be tortured or annihilated for all
eternity, then you have been lied to, big time, and it's time you learned the
truth about this doctrine of demons parroted throughout the centuries by the
Christian Church.

And just how, pray tell, can one sentenced to eternal torture receive
"more tolerance" than others? If the sentence for all unrepentant
sinners is eternity in hell, then this will include Sodom, Gomorrah, and all
the cities of the plains, the entire population of the world at the time of
Noah, Chorazin, Bethsadia, Tyre, Sidon, Capernaum, and the rest of the billions
and billions of humanity which have never heard the name of Jesus down through
the centuries.

How is one sentenced to eternal torture more tolerable than another
sentence? Does one group suffer in 3000 degree fire instead of 30,000 degree
fire? I have read where Christians teach that the temperature of hell fire will
not be measured in thousands of degrees, but in millions of degrees. Sick,
SICK, deranged minds!

Okay then, if Jesus was not pronouncing an eternity of suffering in a pagan
place called hell on the peoples of Capernaum, what did He really mean when he
said they would be
"brought down to hell [
hades]?
"

WHAT HADES IS AND WHAT HADES IS NOT:

So what does Christ's statement mean:
"Capernum...shall be brought down to hell [hades]"?

Hades is a condition, state, mode, or realm, not a place or geographical
location. That Capernum was to be brought "down" to hades is used to describe a
condition rather than a direction. Up implies inspiration and life, whereas
down implies woe and death. Here are two Scriptures using figurative language
with respect to going "down" to death.

"Her feet go
down to death; her steps take hold on hell [sheol]" (Prov. 5:5).

"...going
down to the chambers of death" (Prov. 7:27).

We are told in Acts 2:27 that Jesus's soul was not left in hell (Greek--
hades), which is a quotation from Psa 16:10 which is the same word in Hebrew
which states that Jesus' soul was not left in hell (Hebrew--
sheol).

Therefore, since the Holy Spirit inspired the Hebrew word
"sheol" to be translated as the Greek
hades, we have proof positive that hades is sheol and sheol is
hades. This is, in fact, what Dr. Strong declares in his dictionary:

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, #7585, "
sheol,hades or the world of the dead..."

And we are also given in this definition further proof that hades and sheol
are indeed "the world of THE DEAD." Surely the "world of the dead," cannot also
be the Christian place of: eternal life, eternal judgment, torture in fire,
hopelessness, memories of life, knowledge of past sins, and insane screaming.
How does such nonsense fit into the Scriptural description of the Hebrew
sheol, which is also the same as the Greek
hades? Let's check it out and see if any of these things are found in
sheol/hades:

LIFE? Nope--
"... the
dead are there... in the depths of sheol" (Prov. 9:18).

SCREAMING? Nope--
"... let them be
silent in sheol" (Psa. 31:17).

KNOWLEDGE? Nope--
"... there is
no knowledge in sheol..." (Ecc. 9:10).

HOPELESSNESS? Nope--
"... I will
ransom them from sheol..." (Hos. 13:14).

Jesus was declaring to Capernaum and other cities which refused to obey His
call for repentance, that they would be brought down to death individually, and
collectively as great and exalted cities. This happened--everyone in these
cities has died and the cities themselves died. Now all that remains for them
is their resurrection to judgment, in
"the DAY OF JUDGMENT."

"Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will
judge the world in righteousness by
that Man whom He hath ordained;
whereof He hath given assurance unto all
men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build My Church; and the gates of hell [Gk.
hades]
shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).

Now Capernaum did die out as a city, and all of her citizens are in
hades--the state or realm of the dead until the resurrection to judgment. In
that sense, the gates of hades has been prevailing against Capernaum.

Contrary-wise, Jesus stated that the gates of hades would not prevail
against His Church. And that "hades and death" are like locked gates to which
only he possesses the keys. What does that mean?

If hades is the realm or world or state of the dead, is Jesus suggesting
that death will not come to those in His Church. No, He isn't saying that at
all. Jesus Himself prophesied numerous times that some of His disciples would
be killed or martyred, and certainly all of Jesus' followers eventually die and
enter the realm of hades the realm of death. We need to look carefully at what
He said:

"...I will build My Church; and the
gates of hell [Gk.
hades]
shall not
prevailagainst it"

Jesus did not say that members of His Church would not die, or that they
would not go to the realm of hades, the silent, imperceptible state of the
dead. He said that hades would not
"prevail" against it. That is, hades/death would not have a victory over
His Church.

To get even more specific Jesus inserts the word
"gates" into his statement. There is a difference between hades and its
"gates."

As we already discussed, the members of Christ's Church are to see death,
but the good news is that the gates of hades will not ultimately "prevail"
against them in this death state. A gate can be closed and a gate can be
opened. Once it is opened, it no longer prevails. Another aspect of this
statement is that never through the ages would Christ's Church completely die
out for any period of time.

Jesus likened hades to a prison with gates. As long as the gates are closed
and locked, no one can escape hades, But Jesus assures us that the gates
holding the members of His Church in hades shall not
"prevail." Jesus will prevail, not the locked gates. As we shall see,
Jesus has
the keys of hades and of death." Jesus can therefore unlock the gates
when He gathers His Elect at His coming, and receive them into His Kingdom. The
rest of the dead are resurrected with physical bodies, back to physical life,
to enter their
SECOND death, which will no longer hurt God's Elect.

Now a "gate" is, "A structure which can be swung, drawn or lowered to block
an entrance or passageway" (
American Heritage College Dictionary).

And I think that we can all agree that this figurative/symbolic "gate" of
hades is not there to keep people OUT, but rather to keep people IN, in the
same way that prison doors are there to keep people in, rather than to keep
people out. To "prevail" means, "To be greater in strength or influence;
triumph" (
American Heritage College Dictionary).

So when we put the two ideas together we find that although hades will be
the temporary abode of all Christ's saints, the figurative gates of this realm
of death will not prevail or triumph over them. It is temporary, not
eternal.

THE THIRD OCCASION THAT JESUS MENTIONS HADES

3. "And in
hell [
hades/unseen]
he lifted up his eyes" (Luke 16:23--parable)

This statement is found in a parable, so no one is being eternally tormented
in any fire as we shall now see.

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom:
the rich man also died, and was buried; And in
hell [Gk: 'hades']
he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue;
for I am tormented in this flame" (Luke 16:22-24).

[1] Either God's Word is absolutely true when it states that there is
"no remembrance of Thee in hell [Heb: sheol; Gk: hades] and therefore,
Lazarus and the Rich man is a parable which is symbolic, figurative language
like all parables, and cannot be literal which would destroy any symbolic
meaning.

OR:

[2] Lazarus and the Rich man is not a parable, but literal (which most of
Christendom contends) where Abraham asks the Rich man to
"remember" and therefore, Psalm 6:5 is a blatant lie and contradiction
when it states that
"there IS NO remembrance... in hell [sheol/hades]
."

Since Psalm 6:5 is assuredly not a parable, Lazarus and the Rich man must be
a parable, or we have a blatant contradiction of the Scriptures! Now if anyone
thinks he knows of a third alternative to what becomes a serious Scriptural
dilemma and contradiction by turning the parable of Lazarus into a literal,
historical account, rather than the parable that it is, please let me know.

Let me point out one other interesting fact that seems to be entirely
overlooked (conveniently?) by Christian theologians when discussing where the
dead go.

In Gen. 15:15 we have The Lord God speaking to Abraham and God tells Abraham
this
:

"And
you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good
old age.

Which then happens in Gen. 25:8:

"Then
Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man,
and full
of years;
and was gathered to his people."

Now then, that Abraham was a righteous and obedient man of faith, there is
no question, but what about his "father" and "his people?" What kind of people
where they? They were GOD-REJECTING IDOLATERS, that's what they were, and
here's the proof:

"And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus says the LORD God of Israel,
Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time,
evenTerah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and THEY SERVED
OTHER GODS" (Jos 24:2).

Abraham's
fathers and his
people were worshipers and servers of
"OTHER GODS." You cannot worship other gods and die in that condition in
the good graces of God. Those sins must be judged. Yet, we are told that God
promised Abraham that he would go to the same place
"be gathered to his people" were his idolatrous fathers and family went
when they died. Can't we see that they all went to the same place of
sheol/hades which is the state of the DEAD, where there is no consciousness
where
"the dead know not ANYTHING" (Ecc. 9:5)?

Abraham was a godly man of faith, but his fathers and his people weren't.
Still God tells us that Abraham would die
in a good old age, an old man, full of years and go to his fathers IN PEACE
and be gathered to his people."In PEACE"--From the Hebrew #7965, "
shalom,safe, well, happy, friendly, welfare, health, prosperity, peace" (
Strong's Hebrew Dictionary).

If this "peace" was something that Abraham was to experience AFTER death, in
the state of being dead, rather than at the final time of
going to his Father in the process of dying as God promised, how pray
tell would Abraham viewing all of
"his people" and his
"fathers" being tortured by the flames of the Christian hell of eternal
fire, be
"in peace?" Would you be
"in peace" viewing your father and grand parents and great grandparents,
and all of your people being tortured un-mercilessly. Would you? Well would
you? Are we callous to such a scene of unimaginable cruelty and torture? Would
we not consider someone to be mentally and spiritually sick and deranged if he
could be
"in peace" viewing such a horrific scene of eternal human carnage,
especially being his own family?

I cry out against such unscriptural and
"damnable heresy," and Christians by the thousands attack me like
blood-thirsty wolves, accusing me of not having any love for condemning such
evil and pagan nonsense. I am constantly reminded by my detractors that the
perpetrators of these vile doctrines are God's spiritually anointed ministers
of the Gospel with many years of experience under their belts, and woe unto me
for challenging "God's anointed." Oh really?

Only in the Luke 16 figurative and symbolic language of Jesus' parable of
Lazarus and the Rich man is consciousness attributed to hades. But no parable
is literal.

LAZARUS IS A PARABLE:

Theologians, clergymen, and Christians by the hundreds of millions pretend
to not see that Lazarus and the Rich man is clearly the 5th of a five-part
parable. One does indeed need to be spiritually blind, deaf, and dumb to not
see that Lazarus and the Rich man is the final continuation of a five-part
parable:

"And He [Jesus]
spoke this
parable [consisting of five different examples]
unto them." The
"them" being the
'publicans and sinners' of verse 1, and the
'Pharisees,' 16:14. Jesus always and only spoke to the multitudes in
public, in PARABLES, Matt. 13:34.
"And He spoke
this parable unto them...

[1]
"
what man of you..." (Luke 15:4-7)--this is the
first part of
"this parable."

[2]
"Either
what woman..." (Luke 15:8-10)--this is the
second part.

[3]
"And He said,
a certain man..." (Luke 15:11-32)--this is the
third part.

[4]
"There was
a certain rich man..." (Lk. 16:1-13)--and this is the
fourth part.

[5]
"There was
a certain rich man..." (Luke 16:19-31)--and this the
final part.

So we have:
"what man, what woman, a certain man, a certain rich man, a certain rich
man." It is so unmistakably clear that this five-part parable is all
related to one another by the very first words of each presentation that it
defies human comprehension to believe that even one theologian could or would
argue that the first four examples are parables, but the fifth example is not.
That is carnal spiritual stubbornness on a par to be envied by Satan himself. I
will not take the time or space to duplicate my study paper on the parable of
Lazarus and the Rich man in this paper. You can read it in its entirety on our
home page.

THE FOURTH OCCASION JESUS MENTIONS HADES

4. "I... have the keys to
hell [
hades/unseen]
and death" (Rev. 1:18)

Now we learn that these "gates of hades" are locked and Jesus has the
"keys." In other words, it is possible through Jesus to GET OUT OF HADES. But
did you notice that in this fourth usage Jesus connects something else to
hades. He states that He has to keys to hades,
"...AND death." Notice that Jesus does not state that He has the "keys
to hades and the DEAD." No, that would be redundant, for hades IS the state of
the dead. But rather, Jesus has the keys to
"hades AND [the conjunction 'and' signifies something else; something
additional]
DEATH." Death is a process, a means, and a completed act. We will next
go to our 7th use of the word hades, where we have two marvelous Scriptures
showing a difference between death and hades, and we'll tie this 4th and 7th
together.

THE SEVENTH MENTION OF HADES IS BY APOSTLE JOHN

7. "Death and
hell[hades/unseen]
delivered up the dead" (Rev. 20:13)
"Death and
hell [
hades/unseen]
were cast into lake of fire" (Verse 14)

And again we see "death and hell/hades" used together, just as Jesus did in
Rev. 1:18. Why is this. If hades is the state or realm of the dead, why is this
word linked with "death." Notice this instructive verse:

"Let
death seize upon them,
and let them go down quick into
hell [sheol/hades]
: for wickedness
is in their dwellings,
and among them" (Psalm 55:15).

Are not
"death" that seizes them, and
"sheol/hades" where they go down to, one and the same? No, they
obviously are not. One,
death, seizes upon them, and because of this death they have something
else happen to them: they
"go down quickly to sheol/hades." In other words,
death, as the "act of or process of dying" brings them to the "state of
the dead," which is
sheol/hades, where there is no longer any consciousness, pain, joy, or
"any thing" (Ecc. 9:5).

Seeing that
"death seizes" upon them, we have proof that this "death" has not as yet
made them to be dead, but it is seizing them, that is, it is the
cause of their dying until they are dead. Death is the cause of their
death, or death is what causes them to ultimately become dead, hence they then
"go down quick into hell/hades," which is now the state of their caused
death--they are in fact now dead.

This is precisely what God told Adam would happen if he ate the forbidden
fruit:

"Yet from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you are not to be
eating from it, for in the day you eat from it,
to die shall you be dying" (Gen. 2:17,
Concordant Literal Old Testament).

Here is what our dictionaries tell us:
"death,n.1. the
act of dying; the termination of life.
2. The
state of being dead.
3. The
cause of dying" (
American Heritage College Dictionary). This is really important to
remember. The word death denotes an ACT, STATE, & CAUSE. It will be nothing
but confusion if we do not keep all three of these in mind when dealing with
the abolition of "death."

All three of these definitions are true in actual fact. One is no more true
than the others. So when God tells us that
"the last enemy to be destroyed is DEATH" (I Cor. 15:26), it must
include every and all aspects of what
death really is.
Death will no longer be the
cause of anyone going through
death in the
act of dying, neither will there be any more dead people in the final
state of
death. But will Christians accept the abolition (or destruction) of the
ACT of death, the CAUSE of death, and the STATE of death, as representing what
Jesus Christ will, literally and spiritually "destroy?" No, of course not. How
could they then continue hanging on to their hatred towards others with their
torture in hell for all eternity for those they don't love, doctrine?

Death
itself will be destroyed, or as the
Concordant Version renders it:
"the last enemy being abolished: death." (It is more likely to abolish
something that is inanimate rather than to destroy it as the King James
translates it).

So we have the act, the state, and the cause, all being the definition of
"death." Hence all three must be abolished or there will yet remain some form
of death which would then continue to be an eternal
"enemy" in God's creation.

The lake of fire/second death is how God deals with the sins of humanity.
Jesus died for the sins of all humanity (I John 2:2). But what it seems the
whole Christian world is failing to see, understand, and experience, is GETTING
THE SIN OUT OF THE SINNER. How spiritually blind can we be. After Jesus has
died for the sins of the world, the world continues to sin. Surely we can see
from the Scriptures that God wants to get the sin out of His Elect.

If Jesus died to save sinners, is He going to save only some sinners? His
chosen Elect only? By saving a few chosen elect sinners, does that make Jesus
Christ,
"The Saviour OF THE WORLD" (I John 4:14)? God the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ commissioned Jesus
"TO BE the Saviour of the world." Will Jesus be justified by His Father
if He saves only a FEW?

"And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were
opened, and another book was opened which is the books of life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books,
according to their WORKS" (Rev. 20:12).

"And the
sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and
they were judged every man according to their works. And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death" (Rev. 20:13-14).

When the
"dead... stand," we are being presented with a resurrection from the
dead. For this is exactly what resurrection means (
anastasis in Greek means, "to stand up again"--See Strong's #386
translated 'resurrection'). It is in resurrection that
"the dead... stand" before God. And yes, since we know Revelation is a
book of spiritual symbols, we would be correct in stating that it is "the
SPIRITUALLY
dead" who are standing before God. Aspects of this Judgment:

[1]
"the dead, small and great stand [resurrected]
before God"

[2] they are
judged according to the books, according to their works

[3]
"the sea [the sea of wicked humanity]
give up its [spiritually]
dead"

[4] this includes
"every man" [Gk: 'each one or 'every one' or 'every person']

[5]
"death [the cause]
and hell [the realm]
are cast into the lake of fire"

[6] and those
"not found in the Book of Life were cast into the Lake of Fire"

[7]
this "Lake of Fire
is the Second Death"

The Christian orthodox teaching on the "Last Judgment" is a pagan
fabrication which has been deceiving Christians by the billions for two
thousands years. We will now look closer at just what this
lake of fire/second death is all about.

As we have said many times, there is Judgment for both the chosen Elect now
and the unbelieving wicked in the resurrection to Judgment:

"For if we would judge ourselves [now, in this life]
, we should not be judged [with the world later]
. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not
be condemned [judged]
with the world [at the resurrection to Judgment]" (I Cor. 11:31-32).

"For the time
is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if
it first
begin at us, what shall the end
be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (I
Pet. 4:17-18).

Well we see where they appear in Paul's statement that they will be
"...condemned [judged]
with the world."

And this is at the Great White Throne Judgment in the resurrection to
Judgment, in the lake of fire/second death.

SOME REFERENCES TO JUDGMENT ON THE WICKED:

Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation [j
udgment]
.

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
judged every man according to their works.

Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting [eonian]
life, and some to shame
and everlasting [eonian]
contempt [this is part of their
judgment]
.

Isa 26:19 & 21 Thy dead
men shall live,
together with my dead body shall they arise... For, behold, the LORD
cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity [
judgment]
: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her
slain.

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall
judge the world? and if the world shall be
judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word
are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will
judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained;
whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Jud 1:15 To execute
judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them
of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all
their hard
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Heb 10:26-27 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a
certain fearful looking for of
judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries.

Luk 22:30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit
on thrones
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations,
and to reserve the unjust unto the day of
judgment to be punished:

Act 10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify
that it is he which was ordained of God
to be the
Judge of quick and dead.

Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto
thee the
judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters:

Rev 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas,
alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy
judgment come.

SOME REFERENCES TO JUDGMENT UPON THE ELECT:

1Pe 4:17 For the time
is come that
judgment must begin at the house of God: and if
it first
begin at us, what shall the end
be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Heb. 6:1-3 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let
us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from
dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of
laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal [Gk:
eonian]
judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.

Joh 8:26 I have many things to say and to
judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world
those things which I have heard of him.

COMMENT: Notice that these are the doctrines of Christ, and it is
"us" that are being spoken to in this verse. This "eonian judgment" is
for
us, first, and then the world. This world knows little or nothing about
what Heb. 6:1-3 may have to say about them, at this time. Well, actually, the
Church knows virtually nothing of this also, as it is not taught in Christendom
that individual Christians are being judged right now as we live, and that
there is no judgment for us after we are resurrected.

Ecc 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall
judge the righteous and the wicked: for
there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

1Co 11:31-32 For if we would
judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we
are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the
world.

Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge,
ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you again.

2Th 1:4-5 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for
your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations
that ye endure:
Which is a manifest token of
the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the
kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer.

There are many Scriptures showing that there will be "Judgment" upon God's
Elect and upon the wicked. We will now look at some Scriptures that show us
this Judgment is symbolically represented to be by FIRE.

ALL FIRES ARE THE SAME ONE "CONSUMING FIRE" OF GOD

GEHENNA FIRE IS
JUDGMENT:

In Matt. 5:21-26 Jesus lists four ways in which we can be judged: [1]
the Judgment, [2]
the Council, [3]
Gehenna fire, and [4]
Prison. But hereafter in verse 29 Jesus uses
Gehenna, and again in verse 30,
Gehenna. And pay close attention for what sins this fire is used:
"...if your right EYE offend you... if your right HAND offend you..." it
must be removed, or the penalty is
Gehenna fire. In Matt. 10:28 Jesus mentions again the judgment of
Gehenna. In Matt. 18:9 He again uses
Gehenna fire. In Matt. 23:33 Jesus warns the Pharisees of
Gehenna judgment:

"Ye serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the
damnation [Gk: 'a tribunal, justice, JUDGMENT']
of Gehenna?"

And so Gehenna fire is clearly seen as a way in which Jesus Judges sinners,
and specifically, the sins of the eyes, hands, and feet. Gehenna fire IS
JUDGMENT. What else is Gehenna?

GEHENNA FIRE IS THE
FIRE NEVER QUENCHED:

In Matt. 9:43 & 45, the Judgment for offending with our eyes, hands, and
feet is again mentioned, and here we learn that the fire of this judgment
"...never shall be quenched." It is not eternal fire, but it is fire
that shall not be "put out" until it "burns out" all that it is designed to
purge. So Gehenna fire is also the notorious "unquenchable fire." And so
Gehenna fire and unquenchable fire are the same fire of JUDGMENT.

GEHENNA FIRE IS THE
FURNACE OF FIRE:

"The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of
his kingdom all things [those]
that
offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into
a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth"
(Matt. 13:41-42).

This is the same Judgment of Gehenna fire which is used to judge all those
who offend with their eyes, hands, and feet. Here ALL who
offend are put into
a furnace of fire which is the same as the
unquenchable fire, and the
Gehenna fire.

GEHENNA FIRE IS EVERLASTING[EONIAN]
FIRE:

Next notice that Judgment for offending with our eyes, hands, or feet, is
once again called
Gehenna fire in Matt. 18:9. But back in verse 8 this Judgment for the
same sin is called
"everlasting [Gk: 'aionios/eonian/age-lasting]
fire."

So here we have Scriptural proof that
Gehenna fire, and
everlasting [eonian/age-abiding]
fire are one and the same fire. And so "everlasting/eonian fire" is just
another term for the judgment of Gehenna.

GEHENNA FIRE/EONIAN FIRE IS THE
LAKE OF FIRE:

When Jesus returns to this earth in glory with His holy angels (Matt.
25:31), He will come with great power to JUDGE (Rev. 19:11), and those who
oppose Him will be thrown into
"a lake of fire" (Verse 20). Satan also is cast into this
"lake of fire" (Rev. 20:10), and "death and hell/hades" is cast into
this
"lake of fire" (Verse 14).

Now then, what fire does Jesus say he will use for His judgment on the goats
and on the Devil and his messengers? It is
"everlasting/eonian/age-abiding fire" (Matt. 25:41). Once more we have
clear Scriptural proof that all these descriptions of fiery Judgment are the
very same fire, and that Fire is GOD:

"For our God
is A CONSUMING
FIRE" (Heb. 12:29).

Gehenna fire is the
furnace of fire, the
unquenchable fire, the
everlasting [Gk; eonian/age-abiding]
fire, and the
lake of fire, as we just saw proven by Scripture.

And this fire by five names is God's Judgment:

upon His
disciples (Matt. 5:22, 29, 30)

upon the
Pharisees (Matt. 23:33)

upon the
chaff (Matt. 3:12)

upon the spiritual
goats (Matt. 25:32 & 41)

upon
trees which bear no good fruit (Matt. 7:19)

upon the spiritual
tares (Matt. 13:40)

upon all the
WICKED (Matt. 13:49-50)

All these five
"fires" are the same one
fire, and this fire is the
"Consuming Fire" of God that JUDGES BOTH US AND THE WORLD. And it is
clearly stated that
"The lake of fire
IS the second death" (Rev. 20:14 & 21:8). The
lake of fire is JUDGMENT, and the lake of fire is
the second death. Therefore: the
SECOND death IS GOD'S
JUDGEMENTS UPON BOTH THE WICKED AND THE ELECT!

There is to be judgment upon the wicked and judgment upon God's Elect of The
House of God. And both of these groups are judged by the spiritual fire of God
Almighty,
"For our God IS a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29).

FIRE & JUDGMENT on God's Elect:

"That the trial of your faith [God's Elect]
, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried
with
fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ...
judgment must begin at the house of God" (I Pet. 1:7 &
4:17).

FIRE & JUDGMENT on the UNGODLY:

"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept
in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (II Pet. 3:7).

Revelation shows us that the
"lake of fire" is where all humanity will be
"judged" (Rev. 20:13), and this
lake of fire
is the SECOND death:

"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is
the SECOND death" (Rev. 20:14)

and

"the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is
the SECOND death" (Rev. 21:8).

THE
SECOND DEATH

It's time for another one of those enigmatic Scriptures that sound very
simple, but are difficult to harmonize with all Scriptures compare "spiritual
with spiritual" and believe Jesus when He tells us that His "words ARE spirit"
(John 6:63). Here is that enigmatic statement:

"And as it is appointed unto men [Gk: 'anthropose'--human, mankind]
once to die, but
after this the judgment"

This Scripture is all-encompassing, universal, and applies to every human
who has ever lived. All humanity must die once, and after that death, they must
be judged. There are no exceptions, not even for mentally challenged, teens,
youngsters and even infants. (Do sound-minded Christians really believe that
when babies die they go to heaven and therefore, there will be millions of
eternal babies [in diapers?] living in heaven for all eternity AS BABIES?) God
has a way to deal with babies and infants in the Day of Judgment that will be
quite equitable -- they will grow up to be adults.

The Chosen Elect are judged now in this Church age (I Cor. 11:31), while the
unrepentant, unbelieving, mentally challenged, infants, and all other such
categories, are judged in the resurrection to Judgment (I Cor. 11:32)--
"In that day," as the Scriptures mention so many times. The reason I
don't put infants and such in the category of the wicked every time I mention
the wicked and judgment, is because there are few places that mention babies in
a Judgment setting, but there are some, but they are not judged as are the
wicked. They will be judged for their carnality when it shows itself, as they
mature.

"Because he hath appointed
a day [called that day and the Day of the Lord in many prophesies]
, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that Man Whom He hath ordained;
whereof He hath given assurance unto all
men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).

Some Scriptures refer to judgment on the unrepentant, wicked, and
unbelievers. Others refer to judgment on the chosen Elect of God. And still
others refer to judgment on both the wicked and the Elect, but at different
times.

Now get ready for a real revelation. There are two mysteries in Heb. 9:27
when applied to God's Elect:

what and when is the
"ONCE to die?"

what and when is the
"after this JUDGMENT?"

We will take up the Elect's Judgment part of this verse first.

We learned that
Gehenna fire, and
unquenchable fire, and
eonian fire, and the
furnace of fire, and being
salted with fire, and
the lake of fire, are all the same fire, and this fire is JUDGMENT. Now
then, since the lake of fire is judgment, and the lake of fire
"is" also the second death, if follows that the second death also
"is" judgment. THE SECOND DEATH IS JUDGMENT, AND JUDGMENT IS THE SECOND
DEATH.

Had God wanted to make things easy, He could have inspirited Heb. 9:27 to
read like this:
"And as it is appointed unto men
ONCE to die, but after this the
SECOND death."

For that is what the second death is, JUDGMENT. Likewise then, Judgment is
the SECOND death. After the
ONCE to die comes the
SECOND to die. Or: After the
FIRST death comes the
SECOND death. Simple enough when God gives us eyes to see. But there is
still an enigma about this verse that we will cover a little later.

GOD'S ELECT MUST DIE THE SECOND DEATH THROUGH JUDGMENT

As a young man I used to think, horrors of horrors, God is going to throw
people into a
lake of fire which will be their
SECOND death! It all seemed so frightful and final. Little did I know
that we are all destined for some form of this same
lake of fire/second death/judgment. Yes, God's Elect must also die the
SECOND death.

It's all in Rom. 8:13:

"For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the
Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.

Paul puts people into two options (based on God's foreknowledge):

OPTION ONE is for the wicked world:
"For if you live after the flesh, you shall DIE..." Not only will they
die, because
"it is appointed to men once to die" (Heb. 9:27). But after they die,
they will then come up in the resurrection to judgment, which is the
"lake of fire/second death" (Rev. 20:13-14).

OPTION TWO is for God's Elect:
"...but if you through the Spirit do
mortify [kill, put to death]
the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:13). Therefore, in the
resurrection,
"...you shall not be hurt of the second death" (Rev. 2:11).
"...and he that has part in the first resurrection on such the second death
has no power" (Rev. 20:6).

The second death is not a literal death of the physical body--neither for
the Elect nor the Wicked. It is a death of the carnal mind, the heart of sin,
the nature of sin. Our literal, physical flesh and blood does not die a second
time. But all character flaws associated with sin must die: All believing Elect
Saints of God must DIE TO THE FLESH OF THE CARNAL MIND. Death is the daily life
of the Believer!

"And he said to
them all, If any
man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross DAILY, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

"As it is written, For thy sake
we are killed ['we are put to death'--Concordant Version]
all the DAY LONG; we are accounted
as sheep for the slaughter" (Rom. 8:36).

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and
whosoever will lose his life ['die']
for my sake shall find it" (Matt. 16:25).

"
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
lives in me: and the life which I now live [Paul was spiritually dead,
'crucified,' yet he still lived 'now... in the flesh' and was growing
spiritually in Christ]
in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

"As unknown, and
yet well known;
as dying [a spiritual SECOND death]
, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed" (II Cor.
6:9).

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness" (I Pet.
2:24).

"And
they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts" (Gal. 5:24).

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and
I [am crucified]
unto the world ['love not the world,' I John 2:15-16]
" (Gal. 6:14).

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death" (Phil. 3:10).

"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the
Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:13).

"Always bearing about in
the body [our body]
the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made
manifest in our body. For we
which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the
life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (II Cor.
4:10-11).

"Wherefore if
ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments [worldliness]
of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to
ordinances" (Col. 2:20).

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed
are the dead which DIE in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, says the
Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow
them" (Rev. 14:13).

"
Mortify [deaden, put to death]
therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness,
which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5).

But how can I say that all these Scriptures have reference to our Second
Death, seeing that not one of them mentions a "second death?" The answer is
threefold:

The Second Death IS Judgment, and Judgment after the resurrection is
called the Second death.

The Lake of Fire IS the Second Death, and we too go through the Lake of
Fire (also called, Gehenna fire, eonian fire, etc.), so we too go through
the Second Death, and the above Scriptures refer to the Judgment of death
on God's Elect.

We will see that this Second Death comes after a previous death, and
therefore must be a "second" death. Notice how our death is linked with
fire.

GOD'S ELECT MUST DIE THE SECOND DEATH
IN FIRE

We would do well to review lessons we learned in the "Lake of Fire"
Installment 3,
Judgment by Fire Must Begin at the House of God, and Installment 6,
The Two Judgments by FIRE, and Installment 16, D-3,
The Sermon on the Mount is for YOU. Recapping quickly:

*Jesus taught that
"Gehenna fire" is first applicable to US, His Disciples & Elect:

"But I say unto
you [Christ's disciples, the Elect, YOU, right now]
...shall be in danger of Gehenna fire" (Matt. 5:22).

"And if
thy right eye offend you [the eye of a disciple, any true follower
of Jesus Christ]
...
thy whole body [body of His disciples, that's us]
should be cast into Gehenna" (Verse 29-30).

*He said this
fire was
"...already kindled" during His ministry (Luke 12:49).

Jesus comes to us as a
Comforter, but also as a
Refiner. All the symbolic, spiritual fires of Scripture are the same
fire. The
fire of Gehenna, eonian fire, unquenchable fire, furnace of fire, salted
with fire, fire already kindled, God's consuming fire, chaff burning fire,
tares burning fire, fiery trials, ministry of flaming fire, and lake of
fire are all the same spiritual consuming fire of God. And they all
accomplish the same thing--THEY PURIFY!

"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when He
appears? for
He
is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And He shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of
Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an
offering in righteousness" (Mal. 3:2-3).

Notice that Jesus is returning to
purify the sons of Levi--not Levi, but Levi's sons. Just who are these
sons of Levi that Jesus will purge when He comes?

Can we still remember that
"the words that I [Jesus]
speak unto you, they ARE SPIRIT" (John 6:63)? Who are these
sons that Jesus is
first going to purge? Remember that the Levites were the priests under
the Old Covenant. Malachi was the last book written before Jesus brought the
New Covenant. Now, under the New Covenant, Jesus Christ is the High Priest, and
we, the Elect, are the priests under Him:

"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house,
an holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
But ye
are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should
show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light" (I Pet. 2:5 & 9).

"And hast made us unto our God kings and
priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:10).

The apostle Paul tells us how this spiritual Refiner's fire will purify and
save us:

"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by
fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If
any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a
reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he
himself shall be saved; yet so as by
fire. (I Cor. 3:13-15).

The apostle Peter was well aware of God's trials by fire:

"That the trial of your faith [the 'your' being all the Elect House of
God]
, being much more precious than of gold that perishes though it be tried
with fire (I Pet. 1:7).

Fiery trials will try God's Chosen Elect. If you aren't tried in this
spiritual fire that Jesus had already kindled during His ministry, then you are
not Jesus' disciple.

Years ago I saw in a repetitive phrase with slight variations used in the
book of Revelation, that the testimony, witness, and prophecy of Jesus Christ
is for all ages:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which
is, and which
was, and which is
to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8).

And so, when Jesus says:

"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the
fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be
clothed, and
that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint your eyes
with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be
zealous therefore, and repent" (Rev. 3:18-19)

He is speaking to those in the first century, those in the last two thousand
years, and to us today. These prophecies spoken to the Seven Churches of Asia
are spoken to the entire Church through all the centuries.

The likeness of gold being refined and purified with fire is used several
times in Scripture to show us that we must all go through a similar process to
that of purifying precious metals under extreme heat and pressure, which
produce a product of great price and value.

A SPIRITUAL SIDEBAR: "AND THE SEA GAVE UP THE DEAD"

There are dozens and dozens of symbolic words connected to virtually every
subject I write about, and it is not possible to delve into all of them, as my
papers would become extremely lengthy and time-consuming to write. However, I
would like to take a little diversion at this point to show how many seemingly
unrelated phrases and Scriptures can be brought together to build a unified
order and oneness to our understanding. Just such a phrase is:
"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it..." (Rev. 20:13).

We were just told in verse 12 that
"I saw the dead
small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened..."
This is the Great White Throne Judgment (Verse 11), so doesn't this phrase
the dead
small and great include all people? Surely a category that includes
the "small" and the "great" would include all people that are remaining, not?
Well, maybe not. I can see the "small" as being the young, the innocent, the
infants (none of which will be in the first resurrection to reign with Christ),
and the "great" could include such as the fathers and patriarchs of old who are
no longer considered among the most evil and wicked UN-believers. Abraham was a
"great" believer and the "Father of the Faithful," remember. But the infants
will not always be innocent as they mature, neither were the fathers always
faithful in their checkered past.

And so we are given another spiritual symbol (another category?) by the
phrase
the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And this phrase can help us
understand the two categories of Judgment: The House of God NOW, and the wicked
and unbelieving at the Great White Throne. Two categories, two people, two
callings, two different judgment periods.

"And round about the throne
were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty
elders sitting, clothed in white raiment [a symbolic of righteousness]
; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne
proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and
there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are
the seven Spirits of God. And
before the throne
there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of
the throne, and round about the throne,
were four beasts full of eyes before and behind" (Rev. 4:4-6).

Notice that there are an additional ten symbols in this one single verse.
But for now, what does this
sea of glass symbolically represent? Here's another reference:

"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels
having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And
I saw as it were
a sea of glass mingled with fire: and
them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and
over his mark,
and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having
the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the
song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous
are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true
are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Rev. 15:1-3).

What in the world does this strange symbolism signify?

"And he says unto me, The waters ['and the gathering together of the
waters called He
Seas' ï¿½ Gen. 1:10]
which you saw, where the whore sits,
are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev.
17:15).

The "sea" represents
people, multitudes, nations, and tongues. And before the Throng of God
we see a beautiful
sea of glass. And standing on this sea of glass are those who had
gotten victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and his name. This
sea is now calm and clean and clear and beautiful, like a
sea of glass. This represents God's Elect who have overcome the beast
within and the beast without, and are now before the throne of God ready to
reign with Christ (See Rev. 20:4). But what of the
sea of Rev. 20:13? They are spiritually dead, and represent something
quit different.

Contrasted with
the sea of glass like unto crystal, we have the following description of
another sea, by the apostle Jude:

"
Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars,
to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever [Gk: 'an eon']
" (Jude 1:13).

The wicked are like
raging waves of the sea. Isaiah concurs:

"But the wicked
are like
the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and
dirt" (Isa. 57:20).

Mankind at his worst is likened in Scripture to a beast:

"I said in mine heart concerning the estate of
the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see
that
they themselves are beasts" (Ecc. 3:18).

And THIRTY-SIX times (6 X 6) God calls Babylon a
"WILD BEAST" in the book of Revelation (See Concordant Literal New
Testament). Jude puts them both together: "
brute beasts and raging waves of the sea."

Photo: Gregory Guida

"Likewise also these
filthydreamers defile the flesh,
despise dominion, and
speak evil of dignities. But these
speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know
naturally, as
BRUTE BEASTS, in those things
they corrupt themselves.
Woe unto them! for they have
gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the
error of Balaam for reward, and
perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are
spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you,
feeding themselves without fear:
clouds
they are without water,
carried about of winds;
trees whose fruit withereth,
without fruit,
twice dead,
plucked up by the roots;
RAGING WAVES OF THE SEA,
foaming out their own shame;
wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for
ever [for the eon]
" (Jude 1:8-13).

Not a pretty picture of humanity. This is not speaking of just a few evil
men that crept into the congregation of Christ's Church. This short book of
Jude is speaking of two classes, two kinds, of people--believers and
non-believers, those saved and those destroyed:

"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how
that the Lord, having
saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that believed not" (Jude 5).

Notice it: those
saved and those
destroyed. These represent the entire race. These represent the entire
world of humanity coming up in two resurrections:
"The resurrection of the JUST and the UNJUST." Clearly the
"raging waves of the sea" represent the
"brute beasts" that have
"corrupted themselves." "Foaming out their
shame..." Jude tells us. What is this but Daniel's prophecy of all
such
filthy dreamers coming into eonian
shame and judgment:

"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting [eonian]
life, and some to
shameand everlasting [eonian]
contempt" (Dan. 12:2).

These
brute beasts, these
ranging waves of the sea, MUST BE TAMED, until they become a beautiful,
crystal, clear
sea of glass.

"And I saw another sign in heaven...And I saw as it were a
sea of glassmingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the
beast, and over his image, and over his mark,
and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the
harps of God" (Rev. 15:1 & 2).

Yes, these are the Elect of God who are now before the Throne of God and are
standing on a beautiful crystal clear sea of glass. They have been tamed. They
have conquered the beast within and the beast of Babylon without. They are
shown victorious over the
beast, his image, his mark and his name, but it came at a price. Did you
notice the words
"sea of glass
mingled with FIRE?" Yes, the world must go through the fire, the
lake of fire/second death, and so must God's Elect. But here they are
pictured SAFE (saved) not unlike when Jesus calmed the sea and saved His Own
disciples from the raging waves of the sea. When there is no faith, the beast
appears, and the sea rages.

And He [Jesus]
arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto
them, Why are ye so fearful?
how is it that ye have no faith" (Mark 4:39-40).

Now for how and when the Elect must
once die before their
second death.

WHEN DO GOD'S ELECT DIE ONCE
BEFORE THEIR SECOND DEATH?

But how do the Elect
"die once but
after this Judgment?" It rather seems that they would receive
Judgment [in
this life]
, and then
after this [judgment] they would
once die. No, the sequence is the same for the Elect as it is for the
wicked:
"And it is appointed unto men [including the Elect]
once to die, but
after this [after this necessary
'once to die' declaration, then follows...]
, Judgment" (Heb. 9:27). And what did we learn Judgment is? Why, THE
SECOND DEATH. There can only be a "second" death if it is first preceded by
another death.

Now for the second part of the Heb. 9:27 riddle: When and how do God's Elect
die
"ONCE" before their SECOND death Judgment? Some of you should already be
ahead of me with all the hints I have given you, but for the rest who haven't
figured it out yet, you will maybe feel a little embarrassed when you see the
answer, so here it is:

"Know ye not [no, of course the majority of Christendom 'knows not,' and
that is why the physical aspects of baptism is so important to them...] ...
know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into His death?
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into DEATH" (Rom.
6:3-4).

There is the answer to how God's Elect must
"once die"before their
"Second death Judgment."

The carnal world dies when they breathe their last and go down into the
grave. God's Elect die when they are
"baptized into death.". After resurrection from the dead, the world will
enter into Judgment. And what about us--God's Elect? When do we enter into
Judgment? Same way, when we are resurrected from the dead through baptism.

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of
the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been
planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also
in the likeness of
his resurrection" (Rom. 6:4).

But we are not literally resurrected to immortality as Jesus was, when we
are raised from the dead after being baptized into JESUS, are we? No, not
literally, that is why Paul says we are to,
"
reckon you also yourselves to be
dead."

The Greek word for "reckon" means "to estimate, conclude, impute, reason,
reckon, suppose, think." It is not necessary to "reckon" something that is
literally a present reality. In the future we will literally be free from all
sin and literally have immortality in resurrection, but for now we can just
"reckon" it.

This death is not a literal, physical death, but it is a REAL death, and it
is most important:

"Now if we
be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him"
(Rom. 6:8).

Notice also that in addition to being baptized into Christ's death, we are
also
"buried." True, this is figurative language, but it is true language. We
truly are not only crucified with Christ, and die with Christ, but we are also
buried with Him. THIS IS THE FIRST DEATH OF THE ELECT BEFORE THEIR SECOND DEATH
IN JUDGMENT BY FIRE.

How sad it is that billions of people are eager to be baptized in water, but
do not know what it means to be
"baptized into Jesus Christ." If people want to be baptized in water,
fine, but if they are not at the same time
"baptized into Jesus Christ," which means
"baptized into death," then they only go down dry and come up
wet--little else changes in their lives.

Remember that the Lake of fire IS
death, but death only to those things which are to be no longer. Are
there to be people after the Judgment? Yes. Well then people will not be
literally killed or annihilated in this judgment by fire. How would God ever be
"ALL in all" (I Cor. 15:28)?

THE FIFTH MENTION OF HADES IS BY LUKE

5. "You will not leave My [Jesus']
soul in
hell [
hades/unseen]" (Acts 2:27)
"Christ... His soul was not left in
hell [
hades/unseen]" (Verse 31)

Luke repeats in Acts a prophecy found in Psalms concerning our Lord's
death:

"For thou wilt not leave My [Christ's]
soul in
hell [From the Greek
hades which is from the Hebrew
sheol]
; neither wilt thou suffer your Holy One to see corruption" (Psa
16:10).

So if hell is a hellhole of eternal torture in fire, do Christians believe
that Jesus went to such a place? Yes, they absolutely do: Some think he went to
the suffering department and suffered the pain of being burned in fire for
three days, while others teach that he only went to a compartment that
contained the souls of bygone, deceased saints and patriarchs. Regardless, it
is all unscriptural nonsense.

The "hell" that Jesus' soul went to is the Greek
hades, which is translated in this verse from the Hebrew
sheol, which we saw proved over and over and over again in our first Installment
on hell, to be the realm or state of the dead. And so Jesus' soul (like the
patriarchs of old), did not go to any physical or geographical location, but
rather went to the state or realm of the dead. They put dead bodies into
graves, but they don't put souls ANYWHERE. Until the spirit of man is returned
to a new body, his soul does not exist anywhere, but rather is in a condition
of non-existence until his spirit which returns to God is reunited to a new
body.

As C. S. Lewis said: "You don't have a soul, you ARE a soul, you HAVE a
body." In other words, there is no soul without a body. That is total
unscriptural and pagan nonsense. That is straight out of "The Book of the Dead"
from the Egyptians, not the Holy Scriptures of God.

Contrary to orthodox Christianity
: "Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures" (I Cor. 15:3). And
when someone dies, they are DEAD. Why do Christian theologians teach that when
one dies, they are still alive--somewhere? Because they despise the Word of
God. Can we know from the Scriptures for sure whether someone who is put to
death, as Jesus was, is dead or not? Yes we can. God Himself has told us
so:

"Now after the
death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD
spoke unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant
is
DEAD" (Jos. 1:1-2).

Maybe some would like a second witness on this Scientific and Scriptural
fact:

"
Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came
down from the mount. And when all the congregation saw that
Aaron was DEAD" (Num. 20:28-29).

And when Jesus died for the sins of the world, He was also "dead." If Jesus
was not dead as theologians and many Christians believe, then we don't have a
Saviour. God the Father did not send Jesus' "body" to be the "Saviour of the
world." Let's read it again
:

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how
that
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures" (I Cor.
15:3).

It was "CHRIST" Who died for our sins and it was "CHRIST" Who was DEAD. When
people "die," they are "dead." Christ "died," and Christ was "dead." And
therefore, it is Christ Who is the Saviour of the World, not a "cadaver."

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent [Gk: 'send out
on a mission'--hence a commission]
the Son [Who? 'the Son.' The Son's
body? NO, 'THE
SON]
to
be the Saviour of the world" (I John 4:14).

Are we to believe that the
"Saviour of the world" was a "cadaver"--the dead body of Jesus? Is that
what the Father commissioned? NO, the Father commissioned
"
THE SON [Jesus Christ]
to be the Saviour of the world." Who or What
"died for our sins?" Someone's "body?" Let's read it again: "
CHRIST died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (I Cor. 15:3). I'm
going too fast again, aren't I? So why do orthodox Christian theologians teach
that Jesus NEVER DIED, and since only His "body" died, then His "body" must be
"the Saviour of the world." Why do theologians teach such unscriptural
nonsense? Because they despise the Word of God. What about you? Do you despise
the Word of God?

Now then, do the
dead know that they are dead, or do they know anything at all?

"For the living know that they shall die: but
the dead know not ANYTHING" (Ecc. 9:5).

Even most uneducated people and most children know that when someone like
their Uncle Harry dies, he is dead. But go to a theological seminary for five
to ten years, and they will convince you that when Uncle Harry died, he is
still alive at one of two possible locations. Now I will freely admit that such
wisdom is a "little to fast for me." I admit total ignorance to such "wisdom
theology" of which I have been accused of knowing nothing about. That goes
right over my head (and I'm so glad it does).

"Alleging themselves to be wise, they are made stupid" (Rom. 1:22,
Concordant Literal New Testament).

Jesus was not off in heaven, or down in hell with the wicked sinners in
fire, or in a compartment of sheol with the patriarchs, or in some place called
paradise with the thief that died with Him. No, Jesus was not gallivanting
somewhere up in the clouds or down in some pagan hell. Jesus was exactly where
he said He would be for three days--
"in the heart of the earth." Why is it so hard to believe the Scriptures
rather than men?

Yes, Jesus,
1Pe 2:24 "...bare our sins in
His own body on the tree..." (I Pet. 2:24). And, Yes,
"He went to Pilate, and begged
the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded
the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken
the body, he wrapped
it in a clean linen cloth, And laid
it in his own new tomb" (Matt. 27:58-60). Of course Jesus had a body
and His body was dead.

But was it just the "body of" Jesus and not Jesus Himself that was in the
tomb three days?

"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know
that
ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
He [Jesus]
is not here: for
He [Jesus]
is risen" (Matt. 28:5-6)

Was Jesus in the tomb? Absolutely. But was "HE" still there after the sun
came up Sunday morning? NO,
"HE [Jesus]
is risen." And now for the rest of the Angel's statement:
"Come, see the place where the LORD LAY" (Verse 7). Did the angel limit
Christ's sacrifice by suggesting that only "the cadaver lay" in the tomb. NO.
Where the dead body lay?" NO. WHO
"lay" in that tomb? What do the Scriptures, not men, say
"lay" in that tomb?
"Come see the place where
the LORD LAY."

WHY do I spend all this time and poke fun at the Christian theologians and
ridiculing their foolish and often evil doctrines? Because if you don't see how
ridiculous their doctrines are and how foolish their distortion of the
Scriptures is, you cannot fully appreciate how amazing it is that two billion
followers believe most of this stuff. If we cannot see such a simple truth, as
when one dies he is dead, then we are far from ever learning the purpose for
our very existence.

Jesus died, and was DEAD. When they put Jesus' body in the tomb, they put
JESUS in the tomb. When Jesus died for the sins of the world; Jesus was dead,
not just His body. And when Jesus rose from the dead, it was not just His body.
It is JESUS Who is the
"Saviour of the world," and not just a corpse, a body, a cadaver?
Christians have taught the world that man can't die. That he has an immortal
soul that cannot die. That when people die they are not dead. That at death
people "go somewhere." It is all unscriptural pagan nonsense.

Jesus' soul, His sentient being, His intellect, feelings, emotions, and
heart, which define the human soul, went into a state of "imperceptibility."
His soul was in the realm or state of
hades which means "the unseen, the imperceptible," the state of death,
the realm of the dead, the
sheol of the Hebrew. How could Jesus "GO to heaven," or "GO to a place
called Abraham's Bosom," or "GO to hell," or 'GO to a place called paradise,"
when the Scriptures tell us that Jesus was so dead that it took others to carry
Him into the tomb? Does anyone ever bother to actually think and meditate on
these stupid, pagan, unscriptural, contradicting doctrines of the Church?

THE SIXTH MENTION OF HADES IS BY APOSTLE JOHN

6. "Death and
hell [
hades/unseen]
followed with him" (Rev. 6:8)

Notice that again we have
"death and hell" put together. The reason is rational: the one leads to
the other (as in our three different definition for the word 'death'):

"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was
Death, and
Hell [Gk: hades]
followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of
the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the
beasts of the earth." (Rev. 6:8).

Clearly,
sword, hunger, death, and beasts, are four methods of ending life which
then brings all these categories to
hell/hades, the realm of the DEAD. And this is the same hell/hades which
our Lord was in when He was dead in the tomb, where it was prophesied that His
soul (His sentient, animated life of feelings and emotions) would not be left
there in this unseen, imperceptible, condition and realm of the dead.

And it is these dead "people," not dead "cadavers" which God is going to
raise. If we were to believe the unscriptural nonsense of Christian
theologians, we would be forced to believe that what Paul meant to say to King
Agrippa was:
"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise
the LIVING from heaven and raise the LIVING from hell?"

Is that what Paul meant to say instead of:

"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should
raise the DEAD" (Acts 26:8)
?

THE EIGHTH MENTION OF HADES IS BY PAUL

8. "O
grave [hades/unseen]
where is thy victory" (I Cor. 15:55)

In I Cor. 15, Paul writes about the coming resurrection of the dead in
Christ. According to Christian doctrine, when a person dies believing in
Christ, he then goes immediately to heaven. And this they teach is the case for
all believers ever since the resurrection of Jesus. It is fallacious nonsense
that Jesus freed all the captives in hades and took them with Him to heaven.
Now then, with that bit of unscriptural nonsense in mind, why would Paul,
twenty plus years after Christ's resurrection, be telling Corinthians that the
resurrection was yet future, and that:

"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men MOST
MISERABLE" (I Cor. 15:19).

WHAT? WHY? Why
if in this life only we have hope in Christ, would we be
most miserable? Not according to Christian doctrine. Think about it. A
person follows the Christian formula for salvation, he goes to the front of the
church following an altar call, he then prays the 'sinner's prayer,' and so he
is at that instance pronounced "SAVED." He now has
hope in Christ, that if he should die on the way home (as ministers
often like to warn at these altar calls), he will be instantly with the Lord,
and not in the least
"most miserable." Does he need to have trust and faith in a future
resurrection as Paul so profoundly declared? No, not at all. Well then, what do
Christians do with I Cor. 15:19? Why they THROW IT OUT, of course. Who has need
of a future resurrection from the dead, when he is presently alive and happy in
heaven? Can we say: "CONTRADICTION?"

But this is all Christian fantasy which has no basis in Scripture or
reality. Here are the facts. Twenty plus years after the resurrection of Jesus,
others who died were also dead. Paul teaches that unless Jesus was resurrected
and unless we are resurrected, then any hope we have in this life only, will
make us
most miserable. But we will be resurrected from the dead and we will
have a victory over
hades, but
hades will not have a victory over us:

"So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that
is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where
is thy sting? O
grave [Gk:
hades]
,
where
is thy victory? The sting of death
is sin; and the strength of sin
is the law. But thanks
be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ" (I Cor. 15:54-57).

Yes, where is the victory of hades? Hades will have no victories, seeing
that all aspects of
"death" will be
"abolished/destroyed" (I Cor. 15:26). To hide this fact of Scriptures,
the translators chose to translate "hades" as "grave" in verse 55, thinking
that no one would ever notice, I guess. This verse teaches us that hades is a
defeated foe, and not just for the Elect, but for
the WHOLE WORLD (I John 2:2 & I Tim. 4:10). The saints of God are
not being resurrected out of some pagan Christian hellhole of fire and torture
in I Cor. 15:55, and neither are the wicked resurrected from such an evil
place, neither are they placed back into such an hellhole after resurrection.
Why would God torture humanity for all eternity when they are all righteous as
the Scriptures tell us they will be?

"Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the
desire of
our soul
is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I
desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee
early: for when thy judgments
are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness" (Isa. 26:9).

SOME INTERESTING FACTS REGARDING HADES:

Sinners and saints alike (including Jesus Himself) at death, enter the realm
of the unseen and imperceptible--hades

Hades is never once associated with Gehenna fire.

Gehenna fire is never once associated with hades.

Hades, which is the only word in either the Hebrew or Greek Scriptures that
can even conceivably be translated into the English word "hell," is never once
said to be eternal. Or any of the other unscriptural translations such as
"everlasting, forever, for ever and ever, or evermore.

Jesus has the Keys to hades

Hades will have no victories.

Hades is thrown INTO the lake of fire, so how can it BE the lake of fire
(Rev. 20:14)?

With just those few Scriptural facts in mind, how can hades be a place of
eternal torture in fire? Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.

The reason I say that "hades" is the only word conceivable in the Scriptures
that could possibly be translated into the English word "hell," is because
"hades" is a Greek word which stood for consciousness in an underworld not
unlike the Amenti underworld of the Egyptians. This does not then, however,
mean that "sheol" which is defined by Dr. Strong as "hades," can also be
translated hell. The death state (sheol) of the Hebrews did not teach a
conscious state or a condition of torture in some underworld, as the Greek word
"hades" suggests.

Also, hades was the name of a Greek god. Sheol is not the name of an Hebrew
god. So be clear on this, that sheol cannot be considered an English "hell,"
but for extra definitions given to the word hades it is conceivable that it
could be translated "hell," although all good translations, such as Rotherham's
and the Diaglott, and Concordant, do not translate hades into the English
"hell."

Although the King James family of bibles will undoubtedly continue using the
word "hell" to translate hades, it is now universally recognized by virtually
all Scholars, that "hell" is not a proper translation for "hades." The ASA,
Rotherham's, Diaglott, and Young's Literal, all leave the word as "hades" in
their Versions. Concordant renders hades as "unseen."

CONCLUSION

In today's world of Christendom, it is hardly admitted that the life of a
Believer is to be one of tribulations and trials, pain and suffering, sorrow
and death. It is rather taught that Believers are to be healthy, wealthy,
worldly, and wise. After all, who wants to live a life of "dying?" If the
Christian life of overcoming is such a great life, why not live it FOREVER? No,
our goal is to GET OUT OF THIS LIFE.

Yes, there is joy in knowing that our suffering and trials, and FIRE, is
producing something of eternal value, but the process is not the goal. Look at
Paul's life:

thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the
deep;

In journeys often,

in perils of waters,

in perils of robbers,

in perils by
mine own countrymen,

in perils by the heathen,

in perils in the city,

in perils in the wilderness,

in perils in the sea,
in perils among false brethren;

In weariness and painfulness,

in watching often,

in hunger and thirst,

in fasting often,

in cold and nakedness.

Beside those things that are without... daily, the care of all the
churches.

All of these things took place over a period of about 25 years in Paul's
life. How great was his normal day? Without the hope laid before him, he would
not have endured such pain and abuse as he outlined for us in II Cor. 11. Like
it or not, here is our lot in life as Believers:

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of
our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God.

For consider Him that endured such contradiction [strife,
disobedience]
of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye
have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten
the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children,
My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when
thou art rebuked of Him: For
whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourgesevery son whom He receives. If ye endure CHASTENING, God deals with
you as with SONS ; for what son is he whom the father chastens not? But if ye
be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye BASTARDS, and
not SONS" (Heb. 12:1-8).

We are on a road that leads to son-ship. We are to be THE SONS OF THE LIVING
GOD (Yah I know, it's a little over my head too). See: John 1:12, Rom. 8:14,
Rom. 8:19, Phil. 2:15, I John 3:1 & 2. Do we think that such a task can be
accomplished with little or no effort? If we are not on the road to son-ship,
then we are spiritual BASTARDS! I for one don't desire to be a spiritual
bastard. One cannot be a "Son" and be drunk on worldly materialism, filled with
pride and vanity, consumed with self-aggrandizement, and hell-bent on personal
"free will," and presume to be on the road to son-ship.

The heat, pressure, and fire, that God afflicts upon His called and chosen
Elect to produce the godly character befitting
sons of God, the Church calls curses of the Devil. Even as you sit and
read the words of this Installment on hell, God is bringing spiritual heat,
pressure, and fire into your life. You can either reject it by bringing out
your Christian fire extinguisher, or you can let God's
Consuming Fire burn out the resistance and animosity toward His
correcting Word. You can either live to self and die to God, or you can die to
self and live to God. If God is dealing with you, it is a painful experience
that will liberate and set free your very soul, spirit, and mind.

Let's rehearse these words of encouragement again:

"...let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of
our faith;
Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Notice that Jesus endured the cross, and all that went with it,
"...for the joy that was set before Him..." There is a purpose for what
we do and for what God is doing through us. There is a great goal set before
us. There is great joy NOW, but only because what is
"set before us."

Don't think that I am immune, or indifferent, or ignorant to the trails and
pain that my readers are enduring to become obedient unto death to our Lord. I
am not teaching things of which I have no personal experience. This "spiritual
fire" business is real. I experience it daily. I don't like it--it is extremely
emotionally trying and difficult. But it is necessary. There is a saying in
body-building: "No pain, no gain." It is equally true for building spiritual
muscle.

But it is an enigma. It is a paradox. It appears to even be a contradiction.
Paul stated with a clear and spiritual mind that:

Therefore
I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong" (II Cor. 12:10).

WHAT? Is Paul crazy?
"For when I am WEAK, then am I STRONG?"

Yes, Paul is crazy; crazy like a fox! When we think that we are strong, then
we are truly weak. But when we KNOW THAT WE ARE WEAK, then God can make us
strong. Listen how perfectly the truly great apostles understood these
marvelous truths of God:

"Humble yourselves [admit your weakness]
in the sight of the Lord, and
He shall lift you up" (James 4:10)

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time" (I Pet. 5:6).

Peter is one of my favorites. He likes to add "details." He adds to James
statement by saying,
"in due time." Yes, God will
"lift you up," but not always today or tomorrow, but for sure,
"in due time."

"But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto
thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many
witnesses" (I Tim. 6:11-12).

Okay, it's time I quit. I could go on, but it's time to put this Installment
to press.